Strongman vibes: A trained lawyer, Duterte is deliberate, determined and deadly, knowing how to manipulate the law to his advantage.
ON Monday, Feb 10, Philippine Solicitor-General Jose Calida filed a “quo warranto” * petition against ABS-CBN, the republic’s most popular television station (with over 72.3 million weekly viewers and a 47% viewership share) as well as a perceived critic of President Rodrigo Duterte – in effect, attempting to force it off air.
The next day, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr signed a notice terminating the republic’s Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.
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Strongman vibes: A trained lawyer, Duterte is deliberate, determined and deadly, knowing how to manipulate the law to his advantage.
Eugenio Lopez III (left) and Martin L. Lopez are both on ABS-CBN’s board of directors. Having fended off the Marcoses, the Lopez family are no strangers to political drama. — ABS-CBN News
Activists and media organisations in the Philippines have publicly denounced Duterte’s recent onslaught on ABS-CBN as an attack on press freedom. — ABS-CBN
Duterte favours ties with China and Russia over the US, the Philippine’s former colonial master. — Reuters
Overseas wealth: A recent naturalisation ceremony being held in the city of Bellevue, Washington. Duterte’s actions jeopardise the interests of the 3.3-million-strong Philippine diaspora in the United States who contribute 36.8% of the US$28bil their homeland gets in annual remittances. — City of Bellevue
This 2015 file photo shows Philippine soldiers in an assault exercise with the US Army at the Fort Magsaysay military training camp. On Feb 11, Duterte formally terminated the bilateral Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. — AFP
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